ELEFANTINA’S DREAM

Age Range: 5 - 8

Pub Date: Jan. 1st, 2001ISBN: 0-399-23428-4Publisher: Philomel

Elefantina dreams of skating a dazzling performance in a silvery suit in the next Elympics. Unfortunately, this dream seems unlikely to come true. She lacks a rink, a coach, and even ice skates, but with some ingenuity, she sells coconut to pay for the skates; builds her own ice rink out of blocks of ice borrowed from the ice man; and meets an earnest mouse who agrees to coach her. Mouse tells her that to become the greatest skater and make the team, she must learn the salchow jump. But Elfy just can’t master that feat—at least until a jealous rival accidentally helps her instead of hurting her. A few ill-placed banana peels send Elfy sailing up into the air then down to complete the perfect jump. Elfy then goes on to the Elympics where she performs the perfect routine and is showered with flowers. Cartoon drawings created using crayons and colored pencils accompany the rhyming verses. Text-heavy pages make this a poor choice for reading aloud to a large group, but smaller groups or individual readers will enjoy the lyrical cadence of the story. Readers familiar with Kennedy’s earlier book featuring the Elympics (1999) will want to read more about this talented pachyderm. (Picture book. 5-8)